Councils across the country have been encouraged to come to government to pitch for local housing deals in the manner of the Oxfordshire deal announced in the Autumn Budget.
Tom Walker, deputy chief executive at the Homes and Communities Agency - soon to be Homes England - has suggested that councils should look at the Oxfordshire deal as an initial template for housing offers.
The Oxfordshire template
Following a National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) report on the 'brain belt' between Oxford and Cambridge, the Budget recognised the need 'to build up to one million new homes in the area by 2050 to maximise its economic potential'.
The Budget document states: 'Oxfordshire has agreed to bring forward for adoption a joint statutory spatial plan and commit to a stretching target of 100,000 homes in the county by 2031, in return for a package of government support over the next fve years, including £30m a year for infrastructure and further support for affordable housing and local capacity. The government is also continuing housing deal negotiations with Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, Leeds and the West of England.'
With additional funding in the pipeline for rail and road improvements in the area, Treasury officials also called on local leaders 'to capture rising land values from the additional public investment'.
'The Government will also encourage authorities to explore the introduction of a Strategic Infrastructure Tariff, in addition to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), supported by appropriate governance arrangements.'
Tom Walker exclusive Q and A with Transport Network:
How should councils approach you with a housing deal?
Look at the Oxford deal announced in the Budget, that's the first one we have done. Our principle on deals whether devolution, city or growth deals, is always that they are individually tailored so there isn't a blueprint, but Oxford starts to point the way. It's about ambition on housing numbers and targeted investment opportunities. It's a partnership between public leadership business leadership for the whole geography.
Should this be done at a regional level?
The history of deals is you start a conversation with one set of people and sometimes it grows. It has to be the right geography, a housing market geography and have the right leadership involved. Places that have struggled in devolution have often had rival bids and not been able to reconcile them. It's a process that emerges through conversation. Anyone can initiate that.
What about issues of transparency and benchmarks, so everyone knows what is on offer?
You don’t want to choke off innovation but we don’t want to be constantly reinventing things. At the moment we are in the early stages of discussion. We have Oxfordshire over the line. The Budget says we are well progressed with others. We will continue that dialogue.
Is there anywhere in the country you would say must approach you with a deal?
Overall, our focus in on areas of highest housing need and greatest unaffordability. Beyond that I am not going to start picking places.
Are there any plans to reform the finance structure between counties districts, where districts act as planning authorities for housing but counties acting as the transport authority and pay for the infrastructure needed to go with the housing?
Several of the Budget announcements point to more funding freedom. The political momentum and the links with infrastructure is clear. This is all about specific proposals that make the case for that kind of freedom, in other words, it's not an abstract thing. We will work with places on those proposals.
So you have no plans to change to county district funding divide?
There are currently no plans.
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